Where does “trainboy” come from?
trainboy (English) comes from English train, from Middle English train, from Old French train, from Old French traïner, from Vulgar Latin traginare, from Latin tragēre, from Latin trahere, from Latin traho — to run.
trainboy (English): A young trainman
Definitions
- A young trainman
Ancestry of “trainboy”, step by step
trainboy traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English train
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | train | Elongated portion; Connected sequence of people... |
| 2 | Middle English | train | — |
| 3 | Old French | train | a delay, a drawing out |
| 4 | Old French | traïner | Alternative form of trainer; to pull out, to draw |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | traginare | present active infinitive of *traginō |
| 6 | Latin | tragēre | — |
| 7 | Latin | trahere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 8 | Latin | traho | I drag, pull; I trail; I extract, withdraw |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | traɣō | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | tregʰ- | to drag, pull?; to run, walk |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰregʰ- | to run |
via English boy
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | boy | A young male; A male child: a son of any age; A... |
| 2 | Middle English | boye | servant, commoner, knave, boy |
| 3 | Old English | bōia | boy |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | bōjô | younger brother, young male relation |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | bō- | A stem meaning "father, brother, close male... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰā- | to say |